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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

shutting down
Nanaimo thrift shop owner blames downtown disorder for shutting down
NANAIMO - A popular local thrift store is closing up shop permanently in May with the owner saying fear of downtown area social unrest has driven their customers away. Madeline Crane has owned and operated the Friends of Haven Thrift Shop on Albert St. for the last six years but has worked there for over 16. Despite ba...
13h ago
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short term rentals
'Taken care of all of our concerns:' legislation changes keep Parksville's Resort Row in tact
PARKSVILLE - It's a huge sigh of relief for many of Oceanside's tourist operators.Changes announced Wednesday, March 27 to provincial legislation designed to limit short-term rentals and boost rental stock, now mean Parksville's famous Resort Dr. can continue as it was conceived and designed...and tourist-focused accom...
Mar 27, 2024
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coffee house murder
Man found 'not criminally responsible' for fatal stabbing at Nanaimo coffee shop
NANAIMO - A judge has ruled a man cannot be held criminally responsible for stabbing another man to death at a local coffee house in 2022. The decision by BC Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes on Wednesday, March 27 means James Carey Turok, 32, will be held indefinitely at the BC Psychiatric Hospital ...
Mar 27, 2024
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under review
IIO investigating potential search error after man's death south of Parksville
PARKSVILLE - The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is reviewing the circumstances around the discovery of a body near Little Mountain, south of the city. A report from the agency states Oceanside RCMP officers were alerted by a witness to a body lying on the ground away from a marked trail on Sunday, March 24 a...
Mar 27, 2024
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heading south
Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival moving to Victoria for 2024 summer races
NANAIMO - A staple summer event for the Harbour City will be relocating down-island this year. Rising costs have forced the 2024 Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival, run by the Fairway Gorge Paddling Club, to Victoria on July 13-14. Race director Erik Ages said the financial costs have simply become too much for them to bear,...
Mar 27, 2024
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trail improvement
New boardwalk solves 'ankle-breaker' section of Linley Valley trail
NANAIMO - More than 200 meters of aluminum boardwalk now tops a challenging section of trail on the south side of Cottle Lake in the popular Linley Valley recreation area. Charlotte Davis, manager of parks operations for the City of Nanaimo, said their contractor recently completed the boardwalk which she said vastly i...
Mar 27, 2024
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British Columbia

B.C. First Nation, Catholic Church announce 'sacred covenant' to be signed on Easter
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Vancouver's Catholic Archbishop says a 'Sacred Covenant' agreement has been reached with the First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., that announced the discovery the remains of more than 200 children at the site of a former residential school. Archbishop J. Michael Miller of the Catholic archdiocese of Vancou...
4h ago
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Saskatchewan teachers hope to be back at bargaining table with government next week
REGINA - Saskatchewan teachers could return to the bargaining table as early as next week to work out their labour dispute with the province. Samantha Becotte, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, says she's encouraged by a draft memorandum of understanding from the government. The document says the prov...
7h ago
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On pre-budget charm offensive, Trudeau announces plans to expand $10-a-day child care
SURREY, B.C. - The federal government's pre-budget charm offensive is back for a second straight day - this time aimed at parents and child care providers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government plans to provide more than $1 billion in low-cost loans, grants and student loan forgiveness to expand child care...
8h ago
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Killer whale rescue tactics could involve plan to lift orca calf out of lagoon
ZEBALLOS, B.C. - Experts are reconsidering their options on a rescue plan for the young killer whale trapped by the tide in a remote lagoon off Northern Vancouver Island. Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal co-ordinator at the Fisheries Department, says they are thinking about changing tactics in efforts to convince the ...
17h ago
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Republican committee to select Buck's likely replacement, adding a challenge to Boebert's campaign
DENVER (AP) - A panel of Colorado Republicans will select a candidate Thursday who will likely serve out the final months of U.S. Rep. Ken Buck 's term - and could pose a challenge to Rep. Lauren Boebert's bid for another term in Congress. It's an unusual and confusing twist in a closely watched primary race for a dist...
21h ago
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Marine LNG jetty project in Delta, B.C., gets environmental assessment certificate
DELTA, B.C. - British Columbia's Environment Ministry says a marine jetty project in the city of Delta to facilitate liquefied natural gas exports has been issued an environmental assessment certificate. Environment Minister George Heyman and Transportation Minister Rob Fleming say they issued the approval after "...
Mar 28, 2024
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Canada

Trudeau won't say if he has spoken to Housefather since Gaza motion
OTTAWA - Quebec MP Anthony Housefather remains undecided on his future more than a week after a House of Commons motion on Israel and Gaza left him questioning whether he will remain in the Liberal party. And Prime Minister Minister Justin Trudeau isn't saying if he has even been talking to Housefather to try and keep ...
4h ago
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Four Saskatchewan family members died in murder-suicide, RCMP say
NEUDORF, SASK. - RCMP say four members of the same family found dead earlier this week in a rural Saskatchewan home were the victims of a murder-suicide. Mounties say a 67-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, along with their 30-year-old son, were killed on the property near Neudorf, about 130 kilometres east of Regin...
4h ago
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B.C. First Nation, Catholic Church announce 'sacred covenant' to be signed on Easter
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Vancouver's Catholic Archbishop says a 'Sacred Covenant' agreement has been reached with the First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., that announced the discovery the remains of more than 200 children at the site of a former residential school. Archbishop J. Michael Miller of the Catholic archdiocese of Vancou...
4h ago
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Quebec minister to order probe after complaint about QMJHL English-only playoff garb
MONTREAL - The Quebec government says it will ask the province's language watchdog to investigate after the leader of the Parti Québécois complained about a lack of French on a QMJHL team's playoff garb. On Wednesday night, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon complained on X, formerly Twitter, about T-shir...
5h ago
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Federal Court orders revisions to deal between Ottawa and Métis Nation of Alberta
EDMONTON - The Federal Court is ordering Ottawa to make changes to a self-government deal it struck with the Métis Nation of Alberta. The court says the deal too broadly defines who it applies to and was made without consulting two other Métis groups in the province. The decision strikes down offending ...
7h ago
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Quebec firefighters who died in 2023 flood lacked training, equipment: safety board
MONTREAL - Quebec's workplace safety board says a lack of training and equipment contributed to the deaths of two firefighters during a flood northeast of Quebec City last May. The volunteer firefighters were using an amphibious vehicle equipped with tracks and an outboard motor in an attempt to reach residents of a ho...
8h ago
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